Stanley A. Milner Library | ?m | 6s | EPL | Teeple Architects

[Daveography]

Bookending Churchill Square, and opposite the once controversial City Hall, the Stanley Milner Library is set to undergo dramatic renovations that will change both the exterior and interior of the building, starting in 2017.

Soon, the exterior will be replaced with a striated facade that stretches out towards significant Downtown landmarks. The facade will break open offering glimpses from the city into active library spaces, at the same time providing striking views from the library into Downtown.

The interior of the space will also see a transformation featuring more opportunities for collaboration, learning, exploration, and quiet study. The new design will incorporate better connections to the LRT, Churchill Square to the north and Centennial Plaza on the south.

(Large)

(Large)

Source (Transforming Edmonton)

 

[Daveography]

More info here: http://www2.epl.ca/public-files/building-info/imagine_Milner_jan_2016.pdf

 

[bennessb]

#whoa.

 

[Daveography]

Can't decide if I like it. Heck, just looking at the render makes me feel a bit disoriented. Like those warships they painted in zebra stripes to make it harder for enemy ships to tell bow from stern.

 

[bennessb]

Like those warships they painted in zebra stripes to make it harder for enemy ships to tell bow from stern.

Best example. It does seem more like concept art than an actual facade that I can understand. but who knows!

 

[Daveography]

Looks like this is going to be a lot bigger than just a reclad! Might be worth moving it to the Buildings forum and/or creating a DB entry?

Edmonton Milner renewal imagines much brighter space
Edmonton’s refreshed Stanley Milner Library will by 2020 be open and airy, with much more natural light, a larger children’s library and Makerspace, and a two-storey tall interactive video screen.

The interior floor plans for a vastly renovated building are still being finalized, but based on feedback from public sessions, the children’s library and Makerspace will both more than triple their current size.

Library CEO Pilar Martinez said they were delighted to have so much public feedback on the proposals and also were surprised users still want traditional services, which is why the new building will also include lots of quiet study space.

“People still really see that as a library’s role,” she said.

Martinez said she’s very pleased the new design will open up the building with large openings for grand staircases.

Source / Full Story (Metro Edmonton)

 

[Daveography]

Edmonton downtown library aims to smash out of that concrete box
The downtown library will get far more than a facelift.

Officials released new interior renderings for the $62.5-million project Thursday that show a building stripped of its heavy concrete facade, filled with light, and with major upgrades to the spaces used by patrons.

The creative makerspace and the children’s libraries will both be three times the size, including a separate makerspace, Lego feature and indoor playground for kids.

Makerspaces are sometimes also referred to as hackerspaces and fablabs, and are creative spaces where people can gather to create, invent, and learn. In libraries they often have 3-D printers, software, electronics and crafts.

Full Story / Source (Edmonton Journal)

 

[archited]

Excellent elevations and design scope from the facade facing the Citadel (would be great to see the "Citadel Cloud" proceed with this complement across the street), from the facade fronting on 102nd Ave. that will face a future LRT station, and from the facade facing 100 Street. But (and it is a big but) there is a huge opportunity missed in the potential that exists on the "backside" elevation and ground area opposite the Westin Hotel -- the view from 100A avenue! This would be a great spot for a multistory glass-enclosed urban farm -- exotic tropical fruits, etc.

 

[Daveography]

Centennial Plaza: Little park, big potential
Like many of Edmonton's public spaces, Centennial Plaza (the little park to the south of the building) needs a facelift. Luckily, the library is scheduled for some beatification. Let's hope the square is included.

I often rush by the plaza, located to the south of the Stanley A. Milner library, on the way to somewhere else.

Why stop? There are derelict benches, cracked concrete and a weird-looking statue.

It’s not a space that invites you to linger. Instead it's a concrete slab that, like the library, came from a 1960s way of thinking about urban design. The focus was on the inside rather than the outside.

Full Story (Metro Edmonton)

 

[archited]

Just my point!

 

[Hilman]

Downtown library to move to Enterprise Sq during Milner renovations

In a move many didn’t see coming, the downtown Milner Library will close for at least two years and likely two and a half while a $62 million renovation is carried out. A popular thought, even among some city councillors was that the renovation would be carried out, while library operations continued in the fifty-plus year old building.

Downtown library services will move to a temporary location at Enterprise Square, three blocks to the west.

Library CEO Pilar Martinez confirmed the move in an interview. “Right now the estimate is two and a half to three years,” Martinez said. “So we’re starting construction in early 2017 and we’ll be vacating the building at that time and will be delivering services out of the Enterprise Square site shortly there after so with a very small if any closure window to the public so that we have that transition where we have that continuity of service.”

http://www.630ched.com/2016/06/30/b...e-to-enterprise-sq-during-milner-renovations/

 

[Daveography]

The logistics of moving a library seems almost as dauntingly high as moving a museum.

 

[Daveography]

This one is up at EDC for a formal presentation on Aug. 16:
http://www.edmonton.ca/city_government/documents/EDCAgendaAugust16.pdf

 

[archited]

Exciting @Daveography! I also noticed two other items on the agenda -- is the "South Park" the property on Whyte Avenue that has 3 mid-rise condos proposed? And what do you know about Brian Alssopp's Varsity Condominium proposal?

 

[Daveography]

@archited South Park is the Whyte one (thread here). Unsure about Varsity, but I think it's probably another fairly generic 4-story stick. Allsopps' designs range from bland to pretty bad, so I'm not overly excited about it.